


Carol of the Bell

by PinkPandorafrog



Series: Advent Calendar 2017 [22]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 12:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13099911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkPandorafrog/pseuds/PinkPandorafrog
Summary: She carried the bell with her everywhere, even though she never expected to hear it.





	Carol of the Bell

**Author's Note:**

> December 22's prompt is bells!

Visiting with Erik always left Darcy feeling unsettled. She hadn’t understood why he’d asked specifically for  _ her _ after he’d been captured, and then she  _ had _ . It was still a little hard reconciling the white-haired man in the cell with the man she’d known in the seventies.

But then he’d say things, little references to things they’d done together. Today, he’d asked her if she still had the bell he’d given her.

She did. It was a big jingle bell, about the size of a golf ball. It sat on her mantel. It was currently surrounded by decorations, of course. It always looked more at home at Christmas.

He’d given it to her one stolen night at a concert, surrounded by a crowd of uncaring people. Told her to keep it, and follow it if it ever started ringing.

She’d kept it under her pillow and tucked in her purse when she was out for the day, hoping that it would start ringing. It never had. It felt kind of silly that she still had it, but there was some nostalgia involved. Maybe it was just that it was some kind of tangible proof of what had happened. There were still days where she hardly believed it herself.

As soon as she got home, she went into her living room and looked at it. It was surrounded by fake Christmasy greenery, but it was still definitely there. “I’ll toss it,” she told herself. “When all this comes down, I’ll toss it.” It felt weird saying that. Maybe… Maybe she wouldn’t toss it. Maybe she’d just pack it away with the rest of the decorations, and it would just become a part of her annual decorating.

She did all of the stuff she usually did in the evening. She ate dinner, she cuddled her cat, she called Jane. She thought about calling Charles, but ultimately decided against it. Charles would get all worried, and then he might do something… No, better just to… Not.

She was just getting ready for bed that night when she heard that bell. She knew what it sounded like, she’d played with it enough. She quickly rinsed out her mouth and slapped her toothbrush down on the counter before heading out to the living room, heart in her throat.

The bell was floating about six inches over the mantel and jingling. Darcy peered almost frantically around the living room. There was no doubt  _ who _ was doing that, but where  _ was _ he? A glance showed the door was still locked, although given who it was, it wasn’t like that would stop him. He could even relock it after he was in.

“Erik?” She called softly. There was no answer. But the bell was… Moving. It floated through the living room towards the front door. “Oh, shit!” She was still dressed, but not dressed for outside. She got bundled up as quickly as she could before unlocking the door.

The bell floated outside and down the sidewalk. It was moving at a pretty good pace, Darcy had to walk quickly to keep up with it. She kept glancing around to see if she could find Erik, but he was nowhere to be seen.

There was a park a couple of blocks from her house, and that’s where the bell seemed to be heading. It was a little hard to see in the dark, but it caught the light of the streetlamps overhead, glinting just a bit.

The park was lit up around the edges, but there were a cluster of trees on one side that was a little dark. That’s where the bell was going.

It was impossible not to be nervous about going somewhere secluded and unlit like that at night. But she knew who it was, right? No one else could make the bell just float like that. “Erik?” she called softly.

He stepped out of the trees. He looked just about the same as he did before she’d left him to back to her own time, maybe a couple years older. Judging from the clothes, he’d just come from the seventies, too.

He smiled to see her, and she couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face in return. “There you are.”

She ran the final few steps that separated them and threw herself into his arms. “What are you doing here?” 

“Honestly…” He pulled back just enough to look around. “I’m not entirely sure. Where am I?”

“Brooklyn. You…” She sighed. “You asked me to come see you today. I mean,  _ now _ you. All you did was ask me if I still had…” She pointed to the bell that was still hovering in the air beside them. “That.”

He reached out and plucked it out of the air, then turned it one way and the other before offering it to her. “Maybe the better question is,  _ when _ is it?”

She made a face. “Let’s just say we’re in the next century, and my phone is more powerful than any computer you’ve ever seen.” The chill of the metal bit into her fingers as she shoved the bell deep into her coat pocket.

He looked at her for a second, then nodded. “Okay.”

“Why don’t we…” She pressed her lips together as she looked around the park. “Did you bring anyone else with you?”

He glanced around, too. “Not as far as I know.”

“Then why don’t we go to back to my house where it’s nice and warm? No one is looking for you looking like you, and the now-you is, well…” Darcy sighed. “No one’s looking for now-you, either.”

“But you keep in touch with me?”

“Yeah. It’s kinda… weird.” She took his hand and started back out of the park. “So, were you… intending to come here, or was this just some sort of accident?”

“A little bit of both. There was a…” He trailed off and shook his head.

“Okay.” They were silent for for a couple of minutes as they walked. “You want to get back, right?”

“Yes. Yes, I do.” A touch of regret colored his voice.

“Well, since now-you knew about tonight, I think it’s a safe assumption that you do figure out how to go back.” She was probably going to have to call Charles. She  _ really _ wasn’t ready for that whole… thing.

“But not tonight.”

“Okay.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and smiled just a little.


End file.
